Soul Under the Mountain (Legend of Reason Series) (32 page)

"They see the world through some magical device. I believe it was a jewel or some sort of orb. Anyone could use this device and see anything happening anywhere in the world, but for the twins they both had to use it at the same time. This is because in essence, they only possess half of a soul. For the item to function, they both need to touch it at the same time.

"There was something about their weapons as well. I cannot recall exactly what it was but their weapons were connected in some way.
It was similar to their magical orb in that their weapons functioned differently separately rather than together, but my memory fails me on that part of the tale.

"I believe their names are Gorin and Gewin, but I do not recall the name that they had when they were a single man. I remember that they were said to be very dangerous, and stronger than many men combined. Their skin was an odd color. I believe it was blue or purple.
That is all I remember."

"And you're sure that it's supposed to be only a story. The creatures are not real?"

"As far as I know, it was a story crafted to inspire fear and respect for the god of destruction. It was some kind of fable to demonstrate the diametrically opposing ideas of blessings and curses occurring at the same time, even within the same human being. It was meant to show that we are all vulnerable to the will of the gods, but in their curses we may find blessings, and vice versa."

"I see. And have you ever seen these monsters yourself?"

"Of course not. Now, have the Medorans bring me wine. I have told you all I know."

Alana unfolded her arms and nodded, suggesting that she would hold up her end of the bargain. She had no intention of withholding the wine from Mekkal, but she had no idea if the Medorans would allow him to have it. But in the end, it didn't matter. He had told her everything he knew about the supposedly fictional beasts, and it was a lot more information than they had already. As far as she was concerned, Mekkal had served his purpose, and he could sit in his cell alone until the granite walls
finally fell away to dust.

"What about me?" came a voice from the next cell over. "Can I have wine too? I can tell you any story you want."

Alana walked over to Zeke's cell. "Probably not. But as soon as the war is over you will be free to return to Vindyrion. You have done your part to help us and they are just keeping you here for safety reasons."

"Help
us
? You're a Vindyri, not one of them. Why are you helping the Medorans?"

"Why did
you
help the Medorans? You gave them information about your battle plan."

"I was forced to help them. They killed my fellow soldiers and I was taken prisoner. I didn't have any choice. Since you're on the other side of these bars, I assume you do."

"Yes, I have chosen to fight alongside the Medorans. It's true. These are good people. They're not the monsters we were told they were when we were young."

"It doesn't matter. You should be ashamed for your betrayal. You
should have stayed loyal to your country at all cost."

"Is that right? And at what point in a country's evolution is it acceptable to rise up
and
disagree with the direction of the nation? Do we just accept whatever our King decrees as infallible law?"

"Yes, my fellow Vindyri. It's just like
the immortal
just said about the fable you asked about. We must admit that we ruled by our superiors. Those superiors can be gods or men, but they rule us all the same. If we are loyal followers, we will be rewarded. If we are not, we will be punished."

"Then why did you help the Medorans?"

"Because I feared for my life. Besides, when I was captured, the Medorans became my superiors. I told the truth when I told them I didn't agree with the Vindyri invading Medora, however my devotion to my nation is not affected by my feelings on specific matters. In the end, I am a proud Vindyri, and nothing will ever change what I feel in my heart.
"

Alana reached out and laid a hand on one of the bars."You would be surprised. It was not all that long ago that I was kept in a Medoran cell. I came to this land with the intent to kill, and I almost accomplished it. I tried to murder the General of the Medoran army, but fortunately I failed. I stabbed him in his gut and ran away, assuming that he would die. If you think about it, I am just as guilty of murder even though I failed. My intent was to kill, and I believed I had done so.

"But these Medorans understood. Some were angry at me, but I was forgiven. I had a reason for what I tried to do, and they accepted it and tried to understand it. They could have killed me at any time, but they have accepted me into their circle and I truly feel that I am one of them. I am not treated as an outsider at all. This is my family."

Zeke laughed. "They are manipulating you. They use you to inch closer to their goals. At least I can see that they are using me."

"You can believe that if you want, Zeke.
But do you think that Medorans captured in Vindyrion are treated with the same respect that you have been treated
with
? Are they offered real, hardy meals like you have here? Are they promised that they will be released in a reasonable amount of time?"

"They'll never release me. I will be in here until I die."

"Zeke, mark my words; I promise you that the day after the war is over, I will come here and release you myself. I will be here at dawn, with keys in my hand. Now answer my question; do the Vindyri treat their prisoners with the same respect you have seen here?"

"Whatever the King decides
to be
proper treatment is proper treatment."

Alana huffed. "I'm not asking you if you think it's accep
table. I am asking if you think the Vindyri are as fair as the Medorans."

"It's all irrelevant. We are all prisoners serving our superiors; inside of a cell or not. Our duty to our respective nations is all that matters. Anything other than that is just luck or fate, and we have no control over that."

"True, we can't choose what fate sends our way
; but we can choose how to deal with it. We are forged in that fire, and
it makes us who we are. Our nation of origin plays a part, but the banner we live under does not define us. If it did, we would be
a collective group, and not individuals.
"

"Those are lofty words for someone who has betrayed her country."

"There comes a time, Zeke, when we must call our nationalism into question.
When our leaders force us onto a course that is opposite of where our moral compass points
, we can't stand by and allow it to happen.
The corrupt will of a few should not dictate our direction."

Zeke laughed again as he leaned against a wall. "That is silly. All nations have rulers. Their will is our law. You imply that the will of the people should override the will of their rulers."

"That's right. The people are no less important than their Kings or Emperors."

"But don't you see what you're saying?
" Zeke asked.
"
You admit that the people are a collective group. Their importance as individuals means nothing. It is only their ruler who can matter. He alone can ensure that all people are treated equally, and have a fair chance for equality.
"

"Zeke, your idea of equality is flawed. Medorans believe in equality too, but they do not define it as equal outcomes for all people. Here in Medora, all people are granted the same opportunities, and they are free to act on those opportunities, or sit and do nothing. Their success is theirs alone, but so is any failure they experience. The equality you speak of is just the King forcibly taking more from productive people in order to redistribute it to less productive people. Just how much can King Weryn take before everyone gives up? How will children survive when there are no people willing to make bread or clothing? What incentive will there be for anyone when all Vindyri are granted perfectly equal misery?"

Zeke rolled his eyes. "These Medorans have really put their spell on you. They have somehow tricked you into thinking that being selfish and hoarding their wealth is good for the masses."

"
Wealth is not a reflection of moral failure, Zeke.
Self-interest is not selfishness
. If a tailor desires wealth, his desire will end up clothing the masses. If a baker desires wealth, his desire will feed the hungry. If such efforts failed, then that tailor or baker ends up poor
alongside the needy
. If he has the opportunity to become wealthy, then his efforts benefit everyone.
"

"You can go on believing those Medoran lies if you want. I won't fall for their tricks. I am here against my will, but
you
are here helping them because you
want
to
be
. That
is shameful, and I am ashamed to call you a fellow Vindyri."

Alana snorted a laugh as she turned to walk away. "I'm not interested in your approval, Zeke. I'm interested in getting
as far
away from your political system
as I can
."

Chapter
37

Light struggled to reach the floor from such incredible heights. The shafts lost their intensity the closer they got to the ground, but the ambient light still lit the underground world with a dim, e
erie blue
glow. The walls off in the distance were as black as night, but some of the decorations were silver, offering tiny twinkles of contrast.

"This mountain is completely hollow," Rommus said.

Song nodded. "I don't even know how such a thing is possible. I think there might be some kind of magic here holding everything up. That room over there is where Uritus was crushed with the statue."

Rommus glanced over at the dark doorway su
rrounded by silver adornments, but t
he darkness did not allow him to see the fallen statue in
side. He instead turned his attention to the unfathomably large room
nestled in
the center of the mountain. There were colossal statues on pedestals larger than most Medoran homes. The statues themselves were taller than a Thrahk, and carved from single pieces of fine white marble.
Each of the statues faced the small doorway where Uritus had discovered the robes of Inshae.

"These are the guardians," Song said.

"How do you know?"

"I have put together the pieces I remember from my visions. A lot is still unclear, but some things I can now grasp."

"
I see," Rommus said. "So t
hese
statues
are the guardians of the void?"

"No, these are just statues, really. They were made to symbolize the guardians of the door. These statues and the great door in the distance were carved by the same people. They didn't know what the gateway to the void looked like, nor did they know what the guardians looked lik
e. This is just their
interpretation."

The great statues lined the massive room in two long rows. Between them, far off in the blurry distance was a door. Unlike the tiny doorway behind them where Song had fought Uritus, this doorway was wide enough for a
large
buildin
g to fit though, and about four times as tall. The surrounding frame was lavishly decorated in the typical Medoran fashion, but scaled up to such enormous proportions that it appeared much narrower at the top than at the bottom. The immense doorway towered over everything else in the room, making even the enormous statues look like miniatures.

As they got closer, the fuzzy details of the decorated door became clearer. From what Rommus could tell, it was carved right from the interior of the mountain. The dim light from above did very little to illuminate the area, but it appeared that even the doors themselves were made of mountain stone.
The other walls were clad in black marble, but the wall with the door was not.

As they passed the statues guarding the door, Rommus noticed that not all of them appeared to be human. All of them had the basic human form, but some of the faces were more like creatures than man. Some had mighty jaws with sharp teeth. Others had bony spikes down their backs similar to a Thrahk. Several had horns; some jutting rearwards out of their skulls, and some from the sides like the curling horns of a ram. All of the statues, human or otherwise, had a look of fierce determination. They were carved with intent to show their intent to protect whatever
was beyond that door.

"Song, do you know who carved these statues?"

"Mages. I don't know if they were Silver Mages or Black Mages, but Mages built all of this."

"You know that because of the words in your visions?"

"Yes. Some of what I know comes from words, but other things come as pictures. I never saw anything about the statues in my visions, but I know that the Mages built this door and everything under this mountain."